Lectures on Calvinism, The Stone Lectures of 1898

by Abraham Kuyper

This series of lectures was delivered by Abraham Kuyper at the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1898. Over the course of the lectures, he discusses Calvinism and the way it pertains to many aspects of life including politics, science, and art. According to Kuyper, Calvinism has a natural affinity for scientific investigation, because like scientific inquiry, Calvinism seeks to unify the cosmos under universal laws. Predestination, he says, proves that a set of laws exist to govern the world, and science is merely trying to figure them out. When it comes to art, Kuyper launches into a defense of Calvinism, which is often maligned as a religion that seeks to stamp out art and its significance. Readers will find here a thorough and elegant explanation of Calvinism and its particular outlook on life. Anyone wanting to know how the religion is unique among the many Christian sects will find it an enjoyable and informative read. Dutch theologian ABRAHAM KUYPER (1837-1920) was prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905. He developed Neo-Calvinism, which emphasizes the sovereignty of Jesus over all mental pursuits and supports the idea that there exists a grace given by God to all things in order to sustain the continued unfolding of creation. Kuyper wrote a number of books including Conservatism and Orthodoxy (1870), The Social Question and the Christian Religion (1891), and Common Grace (1902).

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity, Religion, Cultural, Philosophy, Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1932

About the author

Abraham Kuyper was a Dutch politician, journalist, statesman and theologian. He founded the Anti-Revolutionary Party and was prime minister of the Netherlands between 1901 and 1905.

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

PDF available here. Online here. If you want to read more by/on Kuyper, see here. Useful quotes here.

Very helpful book. Kuyper, who was prime minister of the Netherlands for four years, was invited by B. B. Warfield to Princeton in 1898 to participate in the Stone Lectures. An annual prize was named in his honor, and there's even a Center for Public Theology named after him. Kuyper delivered these lectures between Oct. 10–21, approximately one month before the birth of C. S. Lewis (Nov. 29, 1898).

In April 2017, Tim Keller was supposed to receive the Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness. Princeton walked back the award after an outcry regarding Keller's position on homosexuality and the ordination of women. Princeton should just rename the award, because ironically, Kuyper himself would surely be similarly disqualified from receiving Princeton's Kuyper award.

I had this book with me at the hospital when Kate was born. One of the doctors (Weinheimer) noticed it and mentioned that he attended Eastbridge Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Mount Pleasant, SC.

Mentioned positively here.

[Becky Pliego · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! It is always good to read a book that stretches your mind, that makes you to think carefully and deeply, that when you finish it, you know you have learned something new.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.

[Marcel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que livro! Seis palestras do Dr Kuyper, proferidas em Princeton (1898), que nos mostram o Calvinismo não apenas como corrente teológica, mas como uma visão que abrange toda a nossa vida.

[Grant Van Brimmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certain parts are tough to tread, but to understand that Calvinism transcends soteriology and is actually an entire world and life view, this book is crucial.

[Salvador Vivas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pocas cosas puedo decir respecto a un libro tan profundo como el presente. Kuyper fue un genio que logró observar a través del calvinismo el mundo y rescató de la historia su legado. De esa manera, es capaz de mostrarnos la relación que tiene este sistema teológico con la religión, la política, nuestra cosmovisión, la ciencia, el arte y el futuro.

Si bien es cierto que creo que estas conferencias son joyas, definitivamente es difícil de leer por su formato. Eran conferencias. Una conferencia no suena bien cuando se lee. Eso vuelve pesada la lectura, pero sigue siendo de provecho y para reflexión.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time reading Kuyper. Some of the content flew straight over my head while some of it was really, really great. I feel like Kuyper is a good example of looking at how worldview shapes how we act/think, etc. To him, Calvinism is not just a theologically system but a life system.

A couple of other cool things found in reading Kuyper...
-I'm almost certain he helped to develop the doctrine of common grace. With his understanding of the activity of God over all things, it makes total sense that he'd help to develop the doctrine.

-He has the highest view of Calvinism I have ever seen, which is especially interesting because in his day the term Calvinism was borderline offensive. His trumpeting the term so boldly is an act of defiance in and of itself.

-The chapters "Calvinism as a Life System", "Calvinism & Religion", and "Calvinism & Art" were by far my favorites. His argument that Calvinism helped to liberate art (as opposed to the general thought that Calvinism is ant-art as a whole) was really fun and I'll probably point people who make the sweeping claim that "Calvinism hates art" to said chapter.


I wouldn't call myself a Kuyperian by any means, but I'd say that my first trek into Kuyper territory was worth it. I don't think this will be the last time I read something of Kuyper's.

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abraham Kuyper is arguably one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the 19th and 20th centuries. A journalist, theologian and politician (including prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901-1905), here Kuyper delivers six dense, informative, profound lectures on the impact of Calvinism upon the world. Kuyper's writing is excellent and full of flair and flourish but I feel as if upon examination from a 21st-century lens, his excessive praise for Calvinism is vulnerable to critiques. One of the problems with criticizing this point, however, is that I quite openly admit to not knowing as much of the historical circumstances that lay open for Calvinism than Kuyper. I was amazed by how many points Kuyper raises that I thought were more recent ideas. For instance, Kuyper points out that everyone, whether religious or not, relies upon faith, including scientists in their engagement with research and experiments. This is a difficult but illuminating read.

[Jeff Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism are a must-read for anyone interested in worldview studies. His basic claim is that the Calvinistic system provides a comprehensive life-system, beginning first and foremost with our relation to God, then proceeding to our relation to fellow men, and finally to our relation to the world. He demonstrates his thesis by outlining the connections between Calvinism and religion, politics, science, and art (each in their own lecture) while touching on a number of other topics along the way. His lecture on politics is particularly helpful as he develops his notion of "sphere sovereignty," the idea that the state is sovereign over its affairs and should not encroach upon the affairs of the religious sphere or the social sphere.

All in all, while this book can be technical at times and will be most fruitful for someone with knowledge of Reformed theology, it provides more than enough for people of any background to learn much.

[Rick Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chuck Colson recommended this book in an interview. I like it how he integrates Calvinism within his worldview. He has a high view of Calvinism, frequently says it is the reason for many changes in Western Society. This is interesting; However I couldn't find sources to back his claims.

Kuyper emphasizes giving God everything, an unflinching service; He adds saying, In everything God is present, our thoughts, our actions. He explains influence of Calvinism in Protestant countries, concepts of Sovereignty, Liberty underpins or comes from Calvinism. I was surprised to read about French Revolution in his book.

He starts with, three main relationship for every Calvinist.

Man's relationship with God
Man's relationship with other Men
Man's relationship with whole World.

This gives Man an authority and his role in the world.

A good read, I would recommend this to most Christians.

--Deus Vult
Gottfried.

[David Bruyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wishful

One wonders how Kuyper would have adjusted these lectures had he seen Calvinistic nations 100 years later. Insightful but also wishful.

[Jose Ovalle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great- common grace, the reformed tradition as an all of life system, sphere sovereignty. Some not so great- race stuff was whack. I don’t think it’s something one should avoid Kuyper over, if anything it makes Bavinck even a bigger titan in my eyes. I’m glad he saw the good of Kuypers theology and further developed it to renounce the racism of his time ahead of most. I also got where he was getting at, but I wish he balanced the 1-1 relationship between Christians and God without “need” of a mediating institution, the church, with the importance and crucial nature of the church. That’s not out of line w the Reformed, Turretin hammered over and over that the church is our mother and I wish that was in here.

As a last thought- I’m glad I read this book while also reading Chesterton because the differences in their theological starting points were so clear. Chesterton saw the goodness of humanity and creation and got to God through that. Kuyper saw the glory of the Lord, was absolutely floored, and couldn’t help but see everything else in light of Him. I find that more compelling and beautiful.

Ultimately, a pretty good read.

[Levi Friesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting. Less about theology specifically, more reflecting on the implications and applications of the sovereignty of God over all spheres of life. Many intriguing points of connection for our days, some 150 years later.

[Matthew Colvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Has the virtue of elaborating a single powerful theme: God's sovereignty in human life. Puts forth the important ideas of common grace and sphere sovereignty. But the book is marred by the prominent role accorded to some of Kuyper's worst ideas. He gerrymanders Calvinism in order to claim that the suppression of heretics like Servetus is not compatible with it (he advocates a sort of principled pluralism). His chapter on art is almost wholly vitiated by the gnostic idea that higher sorts of worship have fewer visible forms and symbols. He is not a racist, but has his own odd Darwinian ideas about progress via "the mingling of blood". His ideas about the sacraments and the visible/invisible church distinction are also really bad. Above all, the book is ruined by uncritical cheerleading for Calvinism -- it is the answer to all the world's problems, and all its own historical shortcomings are excused by special pleading and blame-shifting: e.g. Roman Catholics can't charge Calvinism with a failure to produce great music because they killed Goudimel in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

Full disclosure: I'm a Calvinist, albeit of the Anglican variety.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kuyper argues that Calvinism is not just a theological system, but is in fact a complete world and life view on the order of Islam, Roman Catholicism, and paganism. Not only is it a world and life view, but it is the highest and most mature of world and life views. It is a complete system that gives order and structure to the world based on the Bible and its teaching.

Kuyper builds upon and describes the import of this fact by demonstrating how Calvinism answers the basic questions of how man relates to God, to his fellow man, and the world. He then goes on to discuss a Calvinistic history and perspective on religion, politics, science, art, and the future.

This is an outstanding set of lectures that is fundamental to understanding what Calvinism is and its meaning for the church. It is also fundamental to understanding the Calvinist project and how it developed through the 20th century--particularly through the thought of Van Til.

[Zach Hollifield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential “Reformed reading.” Especially the first and final lectures.

[Sean Brenon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps there is some hagiography that Kuyper does with Calvin here, but the points are well taken. Almost any issue I have with Kuyper’s book stem from his willingness to overlook or misinterpret Luther who a) didn’t actually see the leader of the state as the leader of the Church in any spiritual sense (Kuyper quotes him a bit out of context without understanding that it was the local kings who guaranteed Luther safety to write his books and allowed Lutheran justification to take hold), and b) recognized the sacred/secular unity as early as ‘Freedom of a Christian.’

To be fair, however, Kuyper is correct that Luther did not systematize his own thought and it was mostly Melanchthon who systematized Lutheranism, which he did partly to its detriment. That notwithstanding, I think that the effect of Calvin was only possible— and, maybe, amplified— via Luther’s attacks on Roman Catholic abuse of the Church.

In that way, I see them in more direct harmony with each other, spiritually if not always theologically. This, in fact, was how Luther felt and would have felt about Zwingli if not for the Anabaptist betrayal (in my opinion). Kuyper discounts the Anabaptists entirely, and I think that’s fair, but I also think he does not separate between Zwingli and the Anabaptists. In fact, it’s almost with some surprise that Kuyper comments how the Baptists have taken up Calvinist thought.

In my opinion, the Baptist tradition *should* actually support Kuyper’s idea of Calvinism more effectively than Presbyterianism since so much emphasis is placed on the role of the believer, and Kuyper’s concept of sphere sovereignty dictates that individuals ought to keep organizational spheres separate. Baptists alone (at that time) would have been able to engage in the individual organization without fear of mixing spheres since Baptist Churches have always been independent by design.

That misunderstanding of Luther and the Baptists, however, does not take away from the understanding that theology is both practical and theoretically because God is the sole sphere that encompasses all others. Whenever one sphere of culture is divorced from God to the extent that it can be, that sphere suffers. I still think he misapplies that idea to the concept of art because he doesn’t really understand art, but it’s not nearly as bad as I remember. Again, even though I think he overly favors objective beauty standards at the expense of personal taste, I don’t think it impacts the end lesson that art loses something when divorced from spirituality. Even atheistic Church-hater Ingmar Bergman said the same thing in his introduction to Scenes of a Marriage.

At the end of the day, I’m actually quite impressed at how clearly Kuyper saw things. He gets that culture’s acceptance of evolution, for example, would lead to the degradation of Christian morality. To be fair, if anyone ever read Huxley, such an idea would be obvious. And yet, Kuyper is one of the few people who seems to understand the danger of evolution AND the danger of Nietzsche’s destruction of philosophy. He stops short of predicting Nazi Germany, but he basically says that Germany is in danger of going bad because they keep rejecting Protestantism in favor of rationalism and Nietzsche’s ideology, and that they’re already there in some ways because they latched onto the Kantian relegation of God to the realm of morality.

This is all way too prophetic. It’s proof that men who understand where they are in history can a) make a difference and b) predict what is going to happen.

There is much to learn here. I highly recommend this book, and I think it’s almost as relevant now as it was 127 years ago when he first gave these lectures.

[Vincent]

Abraham Kuyper, voorvechter van het Nederlandse calvinisme en oprichter van de Anti-Revolutionaire Partij (voorloper van CDA), beschrijft in deze zes lezingen zijn visie op het Calvinisme in religie, in kunst, in de staat, in de geschiedenis, in de wetenschap en in de toekomst. Het boek begint met een biografische schets van Kuyper, geschreven door George Harinck.

De eerste lezing gaat over het Calvinisme in de historie. Kuyper beschrijft het ontstaan van de leer van Johannes Calvijn, en betrekt meerdere denkers zoals Luther en Erasmus daarbij. Kuyper noemt het calvinisme een ontwikkeling in het Christendom dat volwassen wordt uit het Rooms-katholicisme, dat volgens Kuyper te hiërarchisch, te paternalistisch en lichtelijk tiranniek is. Johannes Calvijn schrapt de kerkelijke instituties en haar heiligheid uit het godsbeeld, wat drastische gevolgen heeft voor de geschiedenis van Nederland. Het individu is opeens gelijk aan het andere individu, er is een rechtstreekse relatie tussen mens en God en de staat kan volledig seculier functioneren.

De tweede lezing gaat over het calvinisme en de religie. Het voornaamste punt volgens Kuyper is dat het Calvinisme ervoor zorgt dat de mens direct verbonden wordt met God, in plaats dat de mens één of meerdere mediums nodig heeft om in verbinding te komen met God. De paus, de bisschop, de kardinaal en de priester worden radicaal uit het Godsbeeld verwijderd en geschrapt van alle macht. Kuyper, hoewel zeer conservatief, ziet dit niet zozeer als een revolutie, maar meer als het volwassen worden van de gelovige. In de tijd van Johannes Calvijn deed de drukpers intrede (16e eeuw), gingen mensen vaker naar school en waren belezener. De mens had niet langer 'papa kerk' nodig om in verbinding te staan met God, de leer en de moraal. De mens kon zelf inzien wat nastrevenswaardig was en hoefde het niet langer aan de kerk te vragen. Hoewel het protestantisme in de zestiende en zeventiende eeuw veel bloed heeft moeten doen vloeien voordat het geaccepteerd werd, is het protestantisme volgens Kuyper geen progressieve religie, omdat de basis van de morele en culturele beschaving gehandhaafd blijft: de bijbel.

De derde lezing gaat over het calvinisme en de Nederlandse staat. Hij geeft een beschrijving van de tachtigjarige oorlog en de noodzaak die het calvinisme erin speelde. Nederland vocht tussen 1568 en 1648 tegen de Katholieke Spanjaarden. Kuyper is uitgesproken tegenstander van revoluties, maar Spanje was volgens hem duidelijk een tiran en onnatuurlijke overheerser, waardoor opstand gerechtvaardigd was. Willem van Oranje wordt een aantal keer aangehaald als voorvechter van de Calvinistische leer. Een belangrijk punt is dat het Calvinisme parallel aan het humanisme opbloeide. Kuyper ziet dan ook veel overeenkomsten tussen de tweede, alleen is het calvinisme superieur aan het humanisme, omdat het tijdlozer en inhoudsvoller is. Humanisme is volgens Kuyper een karkas van een ooit beschaafde cultuur, omdat het niets heeft wat een moreel kader kan vullen. De revolutie in Frankrijk, die voor Kuyper nog dichtbij stond, portretteert hij als het ultieme kwaad, een mensenmassa mag nooit op basis van lege, maar veelbelovende retoriek (wat de verlichting voor hem min of meer was) een maatschappij van top tot teen afbreken en opnieuw inrichten. Een prachtige zin vond ik: "waar het calvinisme streeft naar het paradijs dat ooit gevestigd zal worden en hier voorzichtig en geduldig op wacht, probeert de Franse Revolutie het paradijs hier op aarde te vestigen op basis van menselijke capaciteiten. Het humanisme/rationalisme is dus een overschatting van het menselijk vermogen en een ontkenning van de onderdanigheid voor God".

De vierde lezing ging over het calvinisme en de wetenschap. In dit onderdeel was ik het minder met Kuyper eens. Hij noemt een paar argumenten waarom wetenschap en religie niet contradictoir zijn, en waarom religie zelfs een noodzakelijke voorwaarde is voor het bedrijven van wetenschap (zonder geloof heeft het immers geen zin de wereld te onderzoeken). Het calvinisme heeft naar mijn mening echter weinig bijgedragen aan de opkomst van de wetenschap in de afgelopen vijfhonderd jaar. Kuyper noemt een reeks voorbeelden van uitvindingen die in de Nederlanden zijn gedaan door wetenschappers (microscoop, telescoop, etc), maar hij schrijft dat onterecht toe aan het calvinisme. Veel meer kunnen deze uitvindingen worden toegeschreven aan de Verlichting, humanisme en renaissance, dingen waar Kuyper juist tegenstander van is.

De vijfde lezing, het calvinisme en de kunst, is voor mij een onduidelijk stuk. Eerst begint hij argumenten waarom het calvinisme niet tot kunst zou hebben geleid te ontkrachten. Hiervoor gebruikt hij Hegel, die hij naar mijn mening volledig verkeerd begrijpt. Uiteindelijk noemt hij wederom een reeks opsommingen van kunstzinnige hoogstandjes uit de NEderlanden, met name uit de Gouden Eeuw, maar hij mist vervolgens een argumentatie waarom dat aan het Calvinisme te danken is. Wellicht is het zo dat het calvinisme een opkomst van een gegoede burgerij betekende, die calvinistische normen als spaarzaamheid, soberheid, investeren en opoffering van het heden voor de toekomst, hoog achtten en daarmee tot een bloeiende samenleving leidden, waarbij er genoeg wil, talent en middelen waren om cultureel en kunstzinnig tot bloei te komen. Toch ben ik er niet echt van overtuigd dat het calvinisme zoveel esthetica bevat: sobere psalmen, lege kerkmuren, geen mystiek en aards realisme staat er immers centraal.

De zesde lezing, het calvinisme en de toekomst, vond ik een stuk interessanter. Abraham Kuyper spreekt zijn (naar mijn mening zeer terechte) zorgen uit over de intellectuele en morele toekomst van Europa. Hij ziet dat steeds meer mensen God achter zich laten en vraagt zich af wat mensen daarvoor in de plaats zullen zetten. Kuyper schreef dit boek vlak nadat Darwin en Marx hun materialistische, naturalistische, atheïstische theorieën schreven, wat hij zag als een immorele verheerlijking van het aardse leven. Deze laatste lezing van het boek is een duidelijke waarschuwing voor radicalisering en een schreeuw om nederigheid en soberheid. Kuyper beschrijft dat in de meeste moderne ideologieën mensen naast alle andere mensen worden gezet, maar er geen abstract wezen meer boven staat, waardoor mensen over andere mensen zullen willen heersen. Voor Kuyper zit de schoonheid van het Calvinisme er dan ook in dat alle mensen wel gelijkwaardig zijn (in tegenstelling tot het Rooms-Katholicisme), maar dat de mens niet boven aan de natuur wordt gezet en dat alle mensen wel bescheiden moeten zijn in hun motieven vanwege de toorn van God (in tegenstelling tot het paganisme, dat hij regelmatig aanhaalt). Daarvoor is het calvinisme voor Kuyper de beste basis voor een goed functionerende samenleving en een de voornaamste religieuze motor voor een beschaving.

Over het algemeen een interessant boek om te lezen, het calvinisme is intellectueel een stuk rijker dan ik altijd dacht. Toch is het jammer dat Kuyper, een erg intelligente man niettemin, zo veel refereert naar de grootsheid Gods en dat de wil van de mens geproduceerd wordt door God. Hij lijkt niet in te zien dat religie een pragmatisch middel is voor het functioneren van een samenleving en niet dat God daadwerkelijk buiten het denken van de mens bestaat. Het calvinisme was een groot onderdeel in de geschiedenis van Nederland, en zijn nog steeds waarneembaar in de wortels van onze huidige samenleving.

[Nevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abraham Kuyper is considered one of the many intellectuals who helped shaped Calvinism to face the turn of the 20th century, called by historians as Neo-Calvinism.

These lectures paint what he thinks Calvinism is and isn’t, and what it can do and what it must do. Out of these five lectures only the first three are must reads (which I would give a 2.75 stars, and rate it a 2 as it is hard to recommend to everyone).

He introduces worldview terminology to show the truth strength of Calvinism is and why it is the real understanding of the gospel, compared to all known branches at the time. After the the third lecture, however, he does a poor argument on how Calvinism has influenced art and what future should it pine for.

You can see the early rises of modernity and the coming problems Christian’s would face with German Higher Criticism, but still, Kuyper’s arguments left a bigger hole than encouragement. He described in rational heavy language the things of the spirit and mysticism. Insisting that consciousness is what makes man able to enact the true relationships of the “Calvinistic life-system”.

Living in a post young, restless, and reformed movement, it is strange to see how the recapitulation of Kuyper’s teaching, without heading his warnings, caused these young “Calvinist” to fall short of everything he taught.

That’s all I have to say about a book with a great-grandparents worth of theological wisdom; so soon and yet to late for it all.

[Andrew Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. Its not an exposition of Calvinistic theology per se, but on Calvinism as a life system. Kuyper persuasively argues that the underlying tenets of Calvinism (such as unrestricted access to God, the curse upon creation, the original perfect state of man and nature) led to great advancements in art, politics, science, and religion. There are a few downsides. First, maybe its the natural result of time, but it's a bit dense and cerebral. Second, its void of footnotes and concrete examples which opens the door for unverified broad sweeping statements. At times, Kuyper seems a bit too high on Calvinism and his advocacy seems suspect at times without sources. Despite this, the book is so well argued and Kuyper gives so much to think about.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Either this second coming, therefore, is near at hand, and what we are witnessing are the death-throes of humanity; or a rejuvenation is still in store for us; but if so, that rejuvenation can only come through the old and yet ever new Gospel which, at the beginning of our era, and again at the time of the Reformation, has saved the threatened life of our race.”

That quote felt prophetically relevant to the current time we find ourselves in, as did the majority of the last lecture. If you take an interest to the seeming decline of Western Civilization, this book contains a lot of answers as to the cause and cure. One thing that is helpful to keep in mind when reading Kuyper is that by “Calvinism” he does not always mean the precise soteriological theology, but is generally talking about the world system brought about through the belief in God as completely and totally sovereign.

And alas, my copy contained numerous typos and grammatical errors, but there was nothing I could do about that.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only made it 1/3 through. Kuyper's thought is frustratingly deficient. His unquestioning adherence to the idea of human (especially religious) Progress situates him squarely in the stream of Modern thought, which is fine, except he is Modern with no self-awareness of his Modernity. Even as a capital-R Reformed Christian, I was frustrated by his poorly supported yet constant assertions that Calvinism is the greatest form of Christianity ever to have developed, which made the rest of his argument fall quite flat. So many of my friends really love this guy, but I just couldn't get into it.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read, even though many of his examples and arguments were a little too scholarly for me to follow. He labors to show how Calvinism is not just a theology, but a life system developed from the Bible. He believes and convincingly shows how Calvin’s understanding of God and His control and involvement in this world is the highest, richest, and most fruitful theological system from its benefits to all of life from the natural to the spiritual. He believes that our world today would be much benefited from a careful study of Calvinistic theology and its real life applications.

[Luke McEwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very fascinating. Kuyper does such a great job of weaving the theology of Calvinism into 5 different major aspects of life. A lot of this book was over my head and difficult to read, however it was very thought provoking.

[David Jamison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Protestant Christianity - particularly in the tradition of John Calvin - is so robust a system that it can and must permeate all spheres of life: family, art, science, politics etc. Kuyper shows that this vision is possible and to be expected. Really excellent defense of the Reformed tradition as a full orbed life-system.

[Szilard Kui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abraham Kuyper's proposal of Calvinism as an independent and superior worldview had a tremendous impact on me. The best read in the last years. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a well-established protestant presentation of the Christian public life.

[Phillip Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is fascinating. It is not about T.U.L.I.P. (in fact the 5 points of Calvinism were not organized like that until the early 1900s after Kuyper's time).

The chief purpose of these lectures was to eradicate the wrong idea that Calvinism represented an exclusively dogmatical and ecclesiastical movement.

Outline of the Book:

First Lecture – Calvinism A Life-System

Calvinism is incontestably entitled to take its stand by the side of Paganism, Islamism, Romanism, and Modernism, and to claim for itself the glory of possessing a well-defined principle and an all-embracing life-system.

o The first claim demands that such a life system shall find its starting-point in a special interpretation of our relation to God.
o The second condition for creating a life system is that every profound movement has to comply. How we stand toward God is the first, and how we stand toward man is the second principal question which decides the tendency and the construction of our life.
o The third fundamental relation which decides the interpretation of life is the relation which we bear to the world.
o There are three principal elements with which we come into touch: God, man, and the world. The relation to God and to man into which Calvinism places you being thus reviewed, the third and last fundamental relation is our attitude toward the world.

Second Lecture – Calvinism and Religion

The purpose of this lecture was to illustrate the dominant position occupied by Calvinism in the central domain of worship of the Most High.

o This lecture is primarily focused upon unpacking four mutually dependent fundamental questions and answers:
1. Does Religion exist for the sake of God, or for Man? In Calvinism man’s religion ought to be not egotistical, and for man, but ideal, for the sake of God.
2. Must it operate directly or mediately? In Calvinism man has to operate not mediately, by human interposition directly from the heart.
3. Can it remain partial in its operations or has it to embrace the whole of our personal being and existence? 3. Calvinism may not remain partial, as running alongside of life, but must lay hold upon our whole existence.
4. Can it bear a normal, or must it reveal an abnormal, i.e., a soteriological character? In Calvinism, its character should be soteriological, i.e., it should spring, not from our fallen nature, but from the new man, restored by palingenesis to his original standard.

Third Lecture – Calvinism and Politics

The thesis of this lecture was to show what fundamental political conceptions Calvinism has opened, and how these political conceptions sprang from its root principle.

o This dominating principle was not, soteriologically, justification by faith, but, in the widest sense cosmologically, the Sovereignty of the Triune God over the whole Cosmos, in all its spheres and kingdoms, visible and invisible.
o The main points of this lecture attempt to explain a threefold-deduced Sovereignty:
1. The Sovereignty in the State
2. The Sovereignty in Society
o In a Calvinistic sense it is understood, that the family, the business, science, art and so forth are all social spheres, which do not owe their existence to the state, and which do not derive the law of their life from the superiority of the state, but obey a high authority within their own bosom; an authority which rules, by the grace of God, just as the sovereignty of the State does.
3. The Sovereignty in the Church.
o In this part of the lecture, Kuyper considers duty of the magistrate in things spiritual:
o Towards God - The magistrates are and remain—“ God’s servants.” They have to recognize God as Supreme Ruler, from Whom they derive their power. They have to serve God, by ruling the people according to His ordinances.
o Towards the Church – Kuper asks what ought to be the relation between the government and the visible Church? If it had been the will of God to maintain the formal unity of this visible Church, this question would have to be answered quite differently from what is now the case.
o Towards individuals – The final section of this lecture considers the duty of the government as regards the sovereignty of the individual person.

Lecture 4 – Calvinism and Science

The goal of this fourth lecture is to draw his audience’s attention to the nexus between Calvinism and Science. Kuyper has four points for consideration:
o First, that Calvinism fostered and could not but foster love for science. Kuyper aims to show why it is that Calvinism fosters a love for science. He points to the Calvinistic dogma of predestination as the strongest motive for the cultivation of science. In order to prevent misunderstanding he first explains what the term science means.
o Secondly, that it restored to science its domain. In this second point he argues that cosmical science originated in the Græco-Roman world; that in the middle ages the cosmos vanished behind the horizon to draw the attention of all to the distant sights of future life, and that it was Calvinism which, without losing sight of the spiritual, led to a rehabilitation of the cosmic sciences. He also considers the dogma of common grace in its special application to sin, understood as corruption of our nature.
o Thirdly, that it delivered science from unnatural bonds. The purpose of this third point was to show in what manner it has science advanced its indispensable liberty. He explains that liberty is for genuine science what the air we breathe is for us. This does not mean that science is entirely untrammeled in the use of its liberty and need obey no laws.
o Fourthly, in what manner it sought and found a solution for the unavoidable scientific conflict. Kuyper makes the assertion that the emancipation of Science must inevitably lead to a sharp conflict of principles, and that Calvinism alone offered the ready solution for that conflict.

Lecture 5 – Calvinism and Art

Lecture five aims to view from a higher platform the significance of Calvinism to art. Kuyper makes three points in this lecture:
o Why Calvinism was not allowed to develop an art-style of its own.
o What flows from its principle for the nature of art.
o What it has actually done for its advancement.
o Kuyper argues how Calvinism led to higher stages of development in art. An interpretation of the nature of art flows from the Calvinistic principle. Calvinism has encouraged the progress of the arts both in principle and in practice.
o He points out the important fact that it was Calvinism which, by releasing art from the guardianship of the Church, first recognized its majority.

Lecture 6 – Calvinism and the Future

The aim of this lecture is to make a case for how Calvinism should be embraced and viewed in the future. Ultimately he encourages churches to believe it and confess it as their doctrine and worldview. His four main points are:
o Calvinism shall no longer be ignored where it still exists, but be strengthened where its influence continues.
o Calvinism shall again be made a subject of study in order that the outside world may come to know it.
o Calvinistic principles shall again be developed in accordance with the needs of our time, and consistently applied to the various domains of life
o The Churches which still lay claim to confessing it, shall cease being ashamed of their own confession.
o He concludes his lectures by addressing questions about the word election and whether it is his aim to abandon this doctrine. He explains there is not much difference between calling it Election or Selection.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff, as I expected. The lecture "Calvinism and Art" was the best. In it, Kuyper argued for the only real foundation for good and true art and that foundation is Christ's sovereignty in all of life. Here are some of his best quotes:

“The arts, says Calvin, have been given us for our comfort, in this our depressed estate of life.”-pg. 153

“And even when art condescends to become the instrument of mere entertainment to the masses, Calvin asserts that this sort of pleasure should not be denied them.” –pg. 153

“But if you confess that the world once was beautiful, but by the curse has become undone, and by a final catastrophe is to pass to its full state of glory, excelling even the beautiful of paradise, then art has the mystical task of reminding us in its productions of the beautiful that was lost and of anticipating its perfect coming luster.”-pg. 155

“From this standpoint, Calvinism honored art as a gift of the Holy Ghost and as a consolation in our present life, enabling us to discover in and behind this sinful life a richer and more glorious background.” –pg. 155

“If a common man, to whom the world pays no special attention, is valued and even chosen by God as one of His elect, this must lead the artist also to find a motive for his artistic studies in what is common and of every-day occurrence, to pay attention to the emotions and issues of the human heart in it, to grasp with his artistic instinct their ideal impulse, and, lastly, by his pencil to interpret for the world at large the precious discovery he has made.”-pg. 166

“And if this far the eyes of all have fixed constantly and solely upon the sufferings of the “Man of Sorrows,” some now began to understand that there was a mystical suffering also in the general woe of man, revealing hitherto unmeasured depths of the human heart, and thereby enabling us to fathom much better the still deeper depths of the mysterious agonies of Golgotha.”-pg. 166

[Andrew Mcneill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really curious book. There were of course, some excellent sections which I thoroughly enjoyed, but throughout the book, Kuyper lives in a bizarre fantasy that Calvinism is and has the potential to be, the greatest worldview the world has ever seen. Consequently, he continually glorifies Calvinism and its incarnation in the Netherlands and shows how wonderful it is. But this involves a rather simplistic view of history, current affairs and science (among other things). He should at least have the decency to realise that Calvinism is unlikely to be the best system ever (semper reformanda) and has had its failings in the past. I found the section on Art to be particularly galling since he deliberately demeans Art in order to explain why Calvinism hasn't paid much attention to it.

So I didn't like it. Some excellent points, but overall it grieved me. And I'm a Calvinist.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a reason that there's a whole school of thought named after Kuyper with regards to the intersection of Christ and culture. Abraham Kuyper is absolutely brilliant, and this book well-evidences this fact as he shows how the worldview of Calvinism impacts all areas of life. While I didn't agree with him in all his conclusions, his lectures made me think. Particularly good were his lectures on Calvinism and Worldview, Calvinism and Politics, and Calvinism and Art. At points he elevates Calvinism a bit too highly for my tastes, but since he's talking about the worldview of Calvinism, not merely TULIP-Calvinism, his elevation can be somewhat understandable. Overall, Kuyper has written a brilliant set of lectures here that argues well for the prowess of Calvinist thought as it relates to all areas of life.

Rating: 4.5-5 Stars (Extremely Good).